Village News

With the advent of fast and easy food we have lost the art of preparing and eating food. What was meant to be restful and nourishing to our bodies and souls has become merely utilitarian.

I recently sat down with Mennonite Heritage Village’s (MHV) new Food Services Manager Gil Drolet and Assistant Manager Randy Berg. During the interview it became clear that their love of cooking and arranging food for others came at a young age when their mothers increasingly engaged them in supper preparation. For Gil it started at age 8. Within a few years he could do the whole meal complete with roast and the trimmings by himself.
Both men had their first jobs working in restaurants. After a long career with Canada Services, Randy is now coming back to his first love of food preparation. Gil, on the other hand, never left the industry. He has always been good at French and Italian cuisine. He developed his skills in making satisfying Mennonite food when he married a Koop from Steinbach. He has been an executive chef at a golf course and has managed his own catering business the last 12 years in addition to working at Steinbach Bible College (SBC) as their Director of Food Services for 16 years and counting.

The best way to eat food is to receive it from someone you are well-attached to, like a grandmother or a father. I remember as a boy once having my father serve me a hot plate of fried potatoes with ketchup for supper. It was probably the only thing he knew how to make without his wife around, but to me in the context of being cared for by my father it was one of the best meals I ever had. While society has learned that individual ingredients are important, we have forgotten that the setting of the meal is just as important. Research has shown that food tastes better, that you digest better and have increased nutritional uptake when eating in a state of rest, which comes when you feel safe and loved. Good digestion comes with good rest. That’s why the best meddachschlop nap of the week comes after a big Sunday lunch at Oma’s. It’s why many of us think our mother’s food is the best. It is not necessarily because of the quality, but because of that relationship we have with the food and the provider.

As world-class Chef, Daniel Humm said, “I feel so strongly that… your best meal memory is probably in a place where you were with great people, in a place you love and you had good food. But it probably wasn’t the best food you ever had, but your memory marks it the best food… the environment and how you’re treated has so much to do with how you taste the food.” For the sake of healthy eating and relationships, let’s keep taking the time to make our food and enjoying it with loved ones when we can. The Livery Barn Restaurant is also ready to serve you memorable Mennonite food in a caring environment. Another great reason to visit MHV now!